Trekking through Turkey

6fartsinacart
Jun 10, 2017
6 min read

29 May 2017, Monday: The day starts off with a jog. Afterwards Emile, Dad and I go straight into the sea to cool off. While in the water Dad uses the opportunity to look for the puncture in the tyre. Dad finds it and after showering with our cool solar shower (we cheated a bit and used hot water from the kettle), having devotions and tidying up, we are on our way. Mum and Genève are dropped off at Lidl while Dad and Emile go fill Merzy’s tank with water. Along the way Dad manages to buy a tyre repair kit in Kavale and fixes the slow puncture. We stop for lunch at Porto Lagos. On our way to one of the park4night stops we have to cross a river which is flowing over the road. Mum freaks out and insists that we look for an alternative route, but Dad and Emile saves the day by getting out and testing the water 4x4 style. A car comes from the opposite side and crosses the road which convinces Mum that it is safe enough for Merzy to take the plunge.

One of the park4night stops are close to a few Roman excavations (some of them right on the beach) to the south of Maroneia. While exploring, Genève and Emile find a big turtle shell and bring it back to show Nikita and me. We move on and retire on a beach on the outskirts of Alexandroupoli. Emile and Dad try to snorkel, but the sea is like a desert, barren, and they quickly give up.

30 May 2017, Tuesday: Yep, you guessed it, the fitness freaks are at it again at 7:30am. Today’s the day we finish Greece and enter Turkey! We reach the border at 12pm. We need a green card, so Dad goes in to buy one for an unexpected shocking €100. 1pm comes and we are finished and through customs. Soon after crossing the border we spot a shop and Mum and Dad go in for fresh bread. 2:15pm we stop along the road for lunch and hungrily devour the lovely, fresh, SOFT bread. It’s a stark contrast to the hard crusty bread in Portugal. We call it a day at Gallipoli and stop next to the lighthouse over-looking the bay. Dad and Mum walk around town and bring back a few Turkish goodies. After supper we move a little bit further down, away from the people who also come to admire the view with Bollywood (sounds like it) music blaring from their cars. We have to get used to the culture of prayers being sung through megaphones till late at night. It’s been a long day and we welcome the sleep.

31 May 2017, Wednesday: We are now well into our routine and at 10:15am we are out of Gallipoli. It’s a beautiful day. We are in Eceabat at 11am and catch a ferry to Canakkale at 12pm. Half an hour later we set foot (or tyre) on the other side of the Canakkale Channel. We stop for lunch at a little Trojan horse model next to the road. With our limited budget we unfortunately have to make some sacrifices. Therefore we decide not to visit the archaeological site at Trojan. Emile keys in GPS coordinates which takes us on a farm road through rice paddies and marshland to a lovely isolated beach at Yenikoy. It’s an early stop. We put out the awning, kick off the shoes and relax.

1 June 2017, Thursday: During the night we have been woken by the pleasant sound of sheep and their bells passing by. Bliss, it’s like being on a farm. The sun is high in the sky by the time we leave at 10:45am. Soon after we stop at a village to buy bread for lunch. Along the road we stop at the archaeological site of The Ancient City of Alexandria Troas to explore. After looking at the Forum, Emile insists that we go in search of the Theatre signposted up the dirt road between olive orchards. We find another interesting ancient building with 3 huge underground chambers. We continue in vain in search of the Theatre and decide to give up our search as the path narrows and Merzy struggles breaking through the olive tree branches overhanging the road. The fact that Merzy’s not a 4x4 makes us turn back. A little distance further we stop at the Nymphaem which is the ancient ruins of a church, and the Baths of Herodus the Atticus with its spectacular arches.

We stop for lunch at 1:45pm and along the way find the Apollo Smintheion Archaeological Site. Mum and Emile go in for 5 Turkish Lira each. While we wait for them (a bit longer than we expected), Dad and the rest of us contemplate on trying their Turkish tea at the nearby café and museum shop. We finally decide to try some and as we sit down, Mum and Emile exit and join us. Between the 6 of us we share 3 cups of Turkish tea. We come upon ANOTHER archaeological site called Assos at Behramkale on our way to our anticipated night stop. We go explore the well preserved Roman Theatre at Assos. At 6:45pm we eventually pull off into a small olive orchard just before Kȕçȕkkuyu, and stop there for the night.

2 June 2017, Friday: Our fridge has not been working very well for a few days now and this morning Dad officially confirms that it is not functioning and tells us to look out for Elektrolux stores along the road. Because of this problem, we have been depleting our stock. We depart at 9am and stop in Kȕçȕkkuyu to buy bread. On their way to the supermarket Dad, Mum, Genève and Emile happen to walk through a huge Turkish market, so they return with a bag of dates, sliced apricots, small green fruit that look like unripe plums, corn (mielies) and a bag of Turkish tea. Mmmmmm. 11 o’clock Dad spots an appliance service centre and gets someone to have a look at the fridge. 3 hours later, after finally getting the whole fridge out of its spot (there was a lot of silicon keeping the fridge in place!!), the problem is still not solved. They don’t have a spare part that fits and because Turkey isn’t very popular with campers, they don’t have a fridge made for Merzy. Hot and hungry we have lunch there on the spot. Dad puts back the fridge and reconnects the gas hob, and by 2:20pm we are off again. We arrive in Denizkӧy at 5:45pm. After supper Dad goes for a dip and we have devotions outside. While Mum, Dad, Genève and Emile go for a stroll along the beach in between the beach bars and restaurants, I make us our first Turkish tea from scratch. After finished spraying our camper with doom to kill any mosquitoes that dare to enter, we sit outside on the benches drinking our tea and eating ice-cream that Dad and Mum brought back. 10:30pm we’re inside and ready for bed.

Checking out Merzy's slow puncture

Making our way through Kavála

Lunch stop at Porto Lagos

Mummy says 'no go' ... Daddy says 'we go' (...after testing...)

Roman excavations on the coast south of Maroneia

So clear it's like looking through a sheet of glass

Finding more treasures while exploring

Lamb chop - oh we wish

Park4night stop at Alexandrapoúli

Leaving Greece... sniff

Someone managed to get stuck on their way into Turkey

Parking at lighthouse - Gallipoli

Sun setting... with our view across the bay

Cheers to Turkey

Karacabey's gravestone (known as the father with flag).

He served in the Ottoman Army forces as a flag carrier. It's been a tradition for visitors to hang a flag around his grave, because he cut the flag into pieces and swallowed it in order not to give it to the enemy

Leaving Eceabat on the ferry. Crossing the Canakkale channel

On our way to Canakkale

Memorial at Kilitbahir

Ferry on its way to Kilitbahir - fort in the background

Reaching Canakkale's port

Model of the Trojan Horse

Where's our beloved Cape Town?

Under the horse's tail

One of the three underground chambers of an ancient building at the Ancient City of Alexandria Troas

The outside of an ancient building/ruin found at the Ancient City of Alexandria Troas

Snack-break at the Nymphaeum...snacks found under the apricot tree

Baths of Herodus the Atticus

The Temple of Apollo Smintheus - apparantly one of the most attractive structures of the Ancient Greek world in terms of its architecture, design and sculptural works

The Hall of Inscriptions - Archaeological excavations revealed a hall containing inscribed marble pedestals of sculptures representing winners in sports games that were held